War in the Middle East: Many dead during the liberation of hostages from the Gaza Strip

According to the army, Israeli special forces have rescued four hostages in the center of the Gaza Strip. Those kidnapped on October 7 from the Nova music festival were freed on Saturday in two operations in the refugee district of Nuseirat, the military said. They are a 25-year-old woman and three men aged 21, 27 and 40. Palestinians in the Gaza Strip mourned dozens of deaths.

According to an authority of the Islamist Hamas, 210 Palestinians were killed, presumably in connection with the Israeli rescue operation. In Nuseirat in the center of the coastal region, around 400 people were also injured. The figures could not be independently verified. The health authority controlled by Hamas and medical circles in the Gaza Strip had previously spoken of 55 deaths. Israel’s army spokesman Daniel Hagari, on the other hand, spoke in the evening of fewer than 100 fatalities. “I don’t know how many of them are terrorists,” he said.

Media reports and footage show chaos in Al-Aqsa Hospital

The Hamas media office spoke of “an unprecedented, brutal attack on the Nuseirat refugee camp”. The Al-Aqsa hospital is in a catastrophic situation. According to reports, there were heavy air strikes and artillery shelling in the area. Images that are said to show scenes from the hospital treating the refugees show bloodied victims, dead bodies and injured children. According to reports, complete chaos has broken out in the Al-Aqsa clinic in Deir al-Balah.

Army spokesman speaks of human shields

During the rescue operation, extremists used civilians as human shields, said army spokesman Hagari. In the two residential buildings from which the four hostages were freed, families and armed guards held the hostages. The security forces were subjected to heavy fire, the spokesman continued. Palestinians ran into the streets with rocket-propelled grenades to attack the soldiers. According to Hagari, the Israeli security forces fired back from close range and from the air. The military’s statements could not initially be independently verified. According to Israeli police, a high-ranking official was also killed in the operation.

According to Hagari, the freed women were medically examined and reunited with their families in the hospital. The media have already reported on the happy reunion of the 25-year-old woman with her relatives.

Hamas’ foreign affairs chief, Ismail Haniya, described Israel’s recent operations in Gaza as a “massacre” of the Palestinians. “The enemy continues its massacre against our people, our children and women, in Nuseirat and Deir al-Balah,” Haniya said. Israel had “failed militarily, politically and morally.” It remained unclear whether he was referring directly to the news of the release of the hostages from Hamas violence.

Netanyahu and Herzog talk on the phone with freed 25-year-old

The fate of the now freed woman, who was kidnapped by terrorists on a motorcycle and cried desperately for help, has long moved Israel. Her mother is suffering from terminal cancer. The woman had repeatedly asked to be allowed to see her daughter one more time before she died. This wish will now be granted. According to the media, the day of the liberation also fell on the father’s birthday.

According to his office, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the 25-year-old on Saturday. According to media reports, she was happy to be able to speak Hebrew again after such a long time. According to the hostage families’ forum, the student’s friend, who was also kidnapped, is still being held by Hamas.

According to media reports, a 27-year-old man who was freed on Saturday wrote to his girlfriend on October 7 that he was surrounded by terrorists who were firing rockets at him and other victims.

“We are overjoyed to have you home,” said Israel’s Defense Minister Joav Galant, according to his office. He spoke of a “heroic operation.”

Israel’s President Yitzhak Herzog thanked the Israeli emergency services for the “impressive and courageous rescue operation.” He also called the freed young woman. On the X platform, he published a photo of the beaming woman during the short conversation.

Benny Gantz, a minister in Israel’s war cabinet, said after the hostages were rescued that his “heart was full,” according to media reports. At the same time, he canceled a speech originally planned for the evening. He had been expected to announce his party’s withdrawal from the government due to differences of opinion with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s course in the Gaza war.

Scholz: Liberation is a sign of hope

Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) described the liberation as an “important sign of hope”. This applies “especially to the many families in Israel who are still worried about their relatives,” Scholz wrote on Saturday on the X platform. “Four hostages are now free. Hamas must finally release all hostages. The war must end.” US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron also welcomed the release of the hostages.

In the unprecedented massacre on October 7, terrorists from Hamas and other extremist Palestinian organizations murdered more than 1,200 people in Israel near the border with the Gaza Strip. Israel responded with massive air strikes and a ground offensive.

According to the Hamas-controlled health authority, at least 36,801 people were killed and another 83,680 injured. These figures, which do not distinguish between fighters and civilians, cannot currently be independently verified. Israel’s army is under strong international criticism for its actions in the Gaza Strip and the high number of civilian casualties.

According to military spokesman Hagari, 120 of the more than 250 people abducted from Israel are still in the Gaza Strip. It is feared that a large number of them are no longer alive.